Dutton calls for serious rethink on Australia’s nuclear policies
Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Australia must reconsider its nuclear energy policies as the country continues to determine its new clean energy strategies.
While Australia has the world’s largest economic demonstrated resources of uranium and is the world’s third largest uranium producer, the nation currently has no plans for a domestic nuclear power industry due to policy restrictions.
Recently the opposition leader said governments need to look at the most cost-effective options and what can bring down electricity prices in the country.
“Because they’re going up by 29% again this month, and if you look at Canada, they’re paying about a third of the price that we’re paying,” he said.
Rise of nuclear technology
Dutton pointed to the introduction of rapidly developing new nuclear technology options as an opportunity which must be investigated.
“The small modular reactor is the same technology that the government is using on its submarines.”
He said the governments have obviously identified Small modular reactors (SMRs) as a safe and reliable energy supply option.
Dutton also lashed out at claims from Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen suggesting that nuclear is the most expensive form of new energy.
“If nuclear power is so prohibitively expensive, why are more than 50 countries investing in it, including countries with smaller economies than Australia?,” Mr Dutton declared.
“Conveniently, the energy minister is reluctant to mention the costs of storage and transmission when he talks about renewables being cheaper.”
He also pointed out that SMRs could be installed on the sites of ageing coal-fired power plants and using transmission systems already in place.
South Australian moves
South Australia’s opposition leader, David Speirs, has also joined the nuclear power bandwagon.
In a recent speech to the state’s parliament, Mr Speirs said governments need to have an open mind when considering the energy solutions available in Australia, including nuclear power.
“It may very well be that consideration of nuclear energy in some form, likely small modular reactors, will be necessary,” he told parliament.
“Perhaps it’s time to reopen that Royal Commission – have a Royal Commission 2.0 – and start thinking about what South Australia’s role could be in that fuel cycle, some seven years since we last considered it.”
A 2015 Royal Commission into South Australia’s future role in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle recommended that the state’s government “pursue removal at the federal level of existing prohibitions on nuclear power generation to allow it to contribute to a low-carbon electricity system, if required.”
However, as the South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) has highlighted, no Government in South Australia has pursued this recommendation.
SACOME CEO, Rebecca Knol, said nuclear would be a good answer for State which is battling rapidly increasing electricity prices while facing a significant energy transition challenge.
“Nuclear is a safe, reliable and affordable energy source, capable of generating baseload power with zero emissions,” Ms Knol said.
“Coupling modern small modular reactor (SMR) technology, with the state’s abundant uranium, natural gas and renewable energy sources, would facilitate rapid decarbonisation and ensure South Australians have access to dependable and affordable power.
“The findings from the Royal Commission still stand today. The Government needs to act in pursuit of overturning the Federal prohibition to enable it to be explored as part of our future energy mix if we are to protect manufacturing and jobs.”
Growing global nuclear interest
ASX-listed uranium explorer 92 Energy (ASX: 92E) has also welcomed the renewed focus on nuclear energy around the world.
The company’s managing director, Siobhan Lancaster, says nuclear power must be considered in the global energy equation.
“Renewables, because of their intermittent nature, are not a solution on their own, as electricity needs baseload energy, that is electricity that works all the time irrespective of whether it is night or day, windy or not.”
“From a cost point of view, I think Germany has proven that you can spend trillions of dollars on renewables, but without baseload your carbon emissions can go up, as you need to rely on coal or gas for that baseload, and your electricity costs go up.”
“Nuclear is a relatively clean energy that can provide that critical baseload power.”
Finland a great example
Finland recently garnered international attention when it was revealed that the country’s electricity prices had fallen dramatically since the recent start-up of the new Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) welcomed Finland’s decision to make nuclear power a key part of its energy planning,
The US-based agency identified nuclear energy as a good fit in Finland, where a relatively large heavy industry sector and the high heating demand from its cold climate are the main reasons for the high energy intensity of its economy and energy consumption per capita.
New advances
As Small Caps recently reported international energy specialists have identified new nuclear power technology as one of the answers to the world achieving net zero targets.
Global energy analysts Wood Mackenzie recently suggested current developments on technology such as small modular reactors (SMRs) can play a role in supporting the introduction of new nuclear power plants.
Wood Mackenzie has stated a number of times that it believes nuclear should play a central role in decarbonisation for many countries.
“Under our base case, nuclear capacity expands 280 GW by 2050. Under our Global Pledges Scenario, consistent with a 2°C warming pathway, a tripling of nuclear capacity is required.”
However, the company added that for nuclear power to flourish, governments, developers and investors must work together to establish a new nuclear ecosystem, one that makes nuclear affordable.
“The challenge of reshaping the future of nuclear is vast, but so is the opportunity,” the company suggested.
What are SMRs
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are defined as nuclear reactors generally 300 MWe equivalent or less, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production and short construction times.
They are expected to be quicker to market, with a target construction time of three to five years compared with the ‘nameplate’ 10 years needed to build a large-pressurised water reactor.
It has been forecast that price declines that will make SMR technology more affordable will be available between 2040 and 2050 as developers realise economies of scale and improve market economics.